• Navigate and explore industrial plants with robots.
• Improve the existing inspection technologies by building compact robots with high mobility.
• These robots will allow bringing inspection sensors (camera, ultrasonic probes, … ) to locations hardly or not accessible by humans.
• Gaining inspection time and increasing the inspection performance using robots: e.g. no need to disassemble the part to be inspected or to move it to a workshop.
Typical environment
Motivation Approach
Autonomous Systems Lab http://www.asl.ethz.ch
Fabien Tâche ([email protected])Wolfgang Fischer ([email protected])Roland Siegwart ([email protected])
ETH ZentrumTannenstrasse 3, CLA
8092 Zurich, Switzerland
AAUTONOMOUS UTONOMOUS SSYSTEMS YSTEMS LLABAB
Objectives
• The main goal of this project is to develop new compact robots with high mobility able to access any location in narrow environments with complex geometry.
• We want the robot to be as autonomous as possible, in order to simplify its control by the end-user.
3D CAD model of a typical environment
Profile of the inner casing
• A typical environment includes horizontal as well as vertical sections
• The pipe diameter can be very narrow: down to 220mm
• The diameter varies along the pipe
• The pipes are metallic: we then use magnetic wheels for locomotion
Magnetic wheels tests
Modelling and simulationPassive vs. active mechanics
Inspection Robots with Magnetic Wheels
Miniaturization and IntegrationPrevious work: micro autonomous robot
Fusing passive and active structuresPrevious work: rough terrain exploration
rovers with excellent obstaclenegotiating skills
Study and enhanceMagnetic wheels for negotiating
complex shape obstacles
Develop locomotion and navigation concepts for inspection robots:
How to get rid of two magnetic contact points?
• Passive wheel mechanism
• Active wheel lifting mechanism
60mm
7-21mm
Mass: 100-400g
We want to answer the following questions:• Necessary friction coefficient?• Optimal ratio between magnetic force and mass?• What is the most critical situation?
Semi-automatic navigation
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Electromagnetic, active wheel lifter mechanism or passive wheel mechanism?
Fusion of CAD data, sensor information and user commands
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AcknowledgmentThis research is supported by Alstomwww.alstom.com
